CoLu Week 2016
by AJlovesKakashi
Summary: My submissions for CoLu Week 2016. Mostly unconnected oneshots. Character death in some of the later chapters.
1. Day 1: Eternity

So, um, I'm going to try to do this.

I've only written one story for Fairy Tail in the past, but it's time to venture out and see if I can get back into writing and what better time than a week after graduating from college?

I'm all caught up on the manga, so there will be longer stories and sadness later this week, but for today there will be fluff. Fluffy fluff fluff.

It's a little trite, but I hope you like it and stick around for the rest of **CoLu Week 2016.**

Disclaimer: As a testament to how long it's been since I've written fanfiction, I totally forgot the disclaimer. Oops. _Fairy Tail_ belongs to Hiro Mashima.

:thisisalinebreak:

June 19th, 2016

 **Day 1: Eternity**

He seriously could not get used to the chaos that was Fairy Tail.

Aside from the general "goody-goody" _nakama_ bullshit, the drunken bar fights, and the fact that the building was constantly pulsing with sound (spoken and unspoken), Natsu was a little twit and Cobra was getting real tired of his surprise attacks.

Yeah, it was interesting that the loud little jerk had managed to actually turn off the endless flood of garbage that constantly inundated his sensitive ears, but his attempts to "sucker punch" him from the right because _his fucking nonexistent eye_ couldn't see it was a cheap shot.

Thankfully, Erza had recently taken it upon herself to "correct" this behavior by knocking him unconscious whenever she suspected he was creeping a little too close to the Poison Dragon Slayer. Pretty good for Wendy too, since she was the one who had to heal the asshole whenever Cobra poisoned him in self-defense.

Since the armored demon had the pink-haired dipshit under control, Cobra was finally free to think about his next course of action regarding the _problem_ that had recently made herself known. Although he didn't buy into the whole "dragon instincts" thing (he was only a second generation slayer and Laxus seemed fine, so…), he wished he could claim it as his defense for his behavior.

He could only visit Fairy Tail so many times without it seeming suspicious and time for this visit was running out; Jellal was already sending him nervous glances from across the room, uncomfortable trying to hold a conversation with his girlfriend when she had a forcibly unconscious Natsu literally thrown over her shoulder.

Looking away from his boss, his eyes were drawn to the stupid blonde sitting two stools down at the bar. She was holding a pleasant conversation with Kinana and Romeo and was _fucking ignoring_ _him_.

Boring a hole into her head with his one piercing eye, Cobra contemplated just taking a page from Erza's book and walloping her a good one before throwing her over his shoulder and taking off. However, the chances of Fairy Tail taking that sitting down were absolute zero, as in Gray (the closest member of Team Natsu to the bar) would freeze him into oblivion before he took a step toward the damn door.

He tapped his nails against the wood of the bar and they made a satisfying clacking sound.

She had twitched.

So, he did it again.

Her eye twitched and her head turned such that she could give him a stern frown.

He smirked and tapped his nails again and again.

Finally, she apologized to her companions before sliding from her stool and approaching him. She crossed her arms and sighed, "Yes? Was there something you wanted?"

"Yeah."

"Well?" she tapped her foot twice with impatience, her mind whirling though all kinds of scenarios and trying to predict what he would say. Most of her predictions were wrong, but Cobra knew she was trying to generate as many worst-case responses to lessen her disappointment lest they be right. She looked away from him, aware that he could hear her.

"Lucy," his use of her name in public surprised her, and she turned to face him fully as her arms dropped to her sides. Cobra slid from his stool and gingerly grabbed her left hand, finding the ring on her fourth finger, "I'm sorry."

She almost melted, but her expression became stern once again, "You can't just do these things and apologize and expect things to be okay, Erik. You're gone all the time and I'm not as mobile as I was; I can't just use my keys and whip and expect everything to be okay if someone breaks in."

"But Natsu…."

"…is an idiot. You know that and I know that."

He was starting to get annoyed. He'd apologized, hadn't he? Cobra held her hand more firmly and gave her a stern look, "I'm sorry, Lucy. I know not to assume and I didn't suspect you of anything, but I'm a Dragon Slayer and Natsu is pungent."

Now she looked skeptical, exasperated, and the tiniest bit amused.

"Do you know how hard it is to be away from you?" Cobra continued, "And then, when I'm finally able to come home and everything _smells_ like dipshit and cat litter? That can't be good for you."

"Seriously?"

"I'm totally serious."

"So you didn't suspect me of cheating with Natsu and the reason you were upset was because he _worked out_ on our bed and rolled around on our floor?"

"You cheating with Natsu? That didn't even cross my mind," he scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you were going to cheat on me, babe, it wouldn't be with Natsu."

"It would be with Laxus."

"Damn straight," he smirked and pulled her close, "and I would forgive you for it."

"Because he's damn fine?"

Cobra laughed, "Because you married _me_ and you Celestial Mages keep your promises for eternity."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him with a sigh. Her rounded belly pressed into his, "When do you leave again?"

He frowned, today was supposed to be a day trip and Jellal was mentally nagging him already to go. He'd wasted most of the day waiting to apologize and he still had vague plans to air out their apartment and make sure that it at least smelled like him—he had no intentions of letting his spawn incubate in a cesspool of Natsu's filth.

"Jellal wants to leave today, but I might convince him to let me sit out of missions for a bit."

"Rescue him from Erza then; he's always a little more forgiving when you do something nice for him. Or lie and say I've had early contractions or something. Wendy'll back you up if you promise not to poison Natsu again."

"Let's just leave him a note and have Kinana hand it to him when the demon redhead finally leaves him alone. By then, we'll be long gone and he'll be powerless to stop us."

"Now?"

"Now," he casually pulled out a pen and grabbed one of the bar napkins, scribbling some illegible sentences and flagging down his best friend. Once she agreed (albeit with much hesitation), he slid his arm around his wife and headed for the door while the blue-haired leader of Crime Sorcière was still thoroughly distracted.

:thisisalinebreak:

I am admittedly better at sad and wordy introspectiveness, so I expect that I will spend more time on the next installments.

Thank you for reading. I would appreciate reviews, but I would understand if you waited for the week to be up before making any concrete judgments.

Special thanks to my roommate for quickly looking this over and saying, "Eh, it's okay." Especially since she has seen exactly four episodes of Fairy Tail and has read none of it.

See you tomorrow for "Day 2: Excuses"

AJlovesKakashi


	2. Day 2: Excuses

So…Natsu is sort of the narrator. Like, if Natsu's thoughts were filtered through a machine that made them more palatable.

This is a lot more dialogue based, but I hope this is a good follow up to the last chapter. Also, this is in the same universe as "Eternity" and would occur at least a year or two prior.

Disclaimer: _Fairy Tail_ belongs to Hiro Mashima.

:thisisalinebreak:

June 20th, 2016

 **Day 2: Excuses**

Natsu was aware that he had a particular talent for destruction, but it wasn't just his fault. Gray and Erza were just as bad as he was and the blame ascribed to the poor Fire Dragon Slayer was mostly unfair and biased.

Sort of.

But one thing he'd never really gotten was why no one ever blamed Lucy for any of it.

Sure, her magic essentially dispersed blame among several entities that weren't answerable to the Master or Magic Council, but she was just as destructive as he was!

Now, trapped in a hole (courtesy of Virgo) that was entirely filled with Aries' wool, Natsu wondered exactly what the guild was thinking. Lucy wasn't an angel and was as insane and violent as the rest of them.

Especially when Cobra was around.

"I didn't mean it, Lucy!" he yelled, his voice muffled.

"'I didn't mean it, Lucy!' he s-says," Aries stammered out. He could vaguely see her leaning over the hole, so she must've felt like she had to translate for her mistress. Lucy presumably responded, since Aries released his head from the iron grip of her fluff.

"Didn't mean what, Natsu?" Lucy demanded, a snickering Cobra slightly behind her.

Natsu struggled and squirmed, trying to pull himself free. He soon found it futile, "Could you let me go? Huh, Luce? Hard to talk all packed in and stuff."

"Not a chance."

Natsu had a massive decision to mull over. If he actually apologized it would hurt his pride, but he could be free and in her good graces. Or he could come up with an excuse, save his pride, and not look like a total tool in front of the wanted criminal. Without sparing another thought for something so obvious, he opened his impudent mouth: "You see, Lucy, it was just my 'draconic instincts' kicking in."

She frowned and Natsu's stomach dropped as she turned to her companion, "What do you think, Erik? Is that a thing?"

He was holding his stomach now and laughing with abandon, "Not even a bit. Fuck! That's hilarious, Flame Brain! You thought that would work?"

Natsu realized that he should've totally seen that coming. He did feel indignant though.

"It's not my fault that—"

"It _is_ your fault, dumbass," Cobra, finally recovered, interjected before straightening himself to his full height. He now loomed behind Lucy, his one eye still glinting with mirth, "You provoked me and I provoked her, so the damage reparations should come from your share."

"The hell are you even here, anyway? Shouldn't you be gettin' your ass beat by Jellal?" the pink-haired mage sneered, as he tried to burn away the wool.

"S-sorry, Natsu-sama," Aries fidgeted, "I used flame-resistant wool…."

Cursing, Natsu glared at the two jerks trying to financially punish him for Lucy's foul temper. Money wasn't terribly important to him (Mavis knows he had more than he knew what to do with), but it was the principle of the thing! He hadn't even blown anything up this time!

"Luce, this is crazy! You know I woulda let you have my share!"

"I don't want your share! All you had to do was apologize!"

They were at an impasse. He'd done plenty of stupid things before without her going postal, so why was it different this time? Was it Cobra? Was he controlling Scary Lucy and poisoning Normal Lucy against him? Were they two separate people to begin with?!

Thinking made his head hurt, so Natsu turned to his next avenue of rescue, "Happy! You should just fly us out of here! This is ridiculous!"

Happy looked guiltily from him toward Cobra and Lucy, each glaring at the tiny blue cat. He wrung his paws together and anxiously grabbed his tail, "Sorry, Natsu, I…used up too much magic in the battle earlier. Heh…heh heh…."

He should just do it, he internally conceded. He should just apologize and let them take his share for the damage Lucy caused. He wouldn't even miss that money anyway.

A shadow fell over him and he looked up at the smirking Cobra, "What the hell do you want?"

"Hey, Dumbass," the villain cocked his head to the right, "I'll pay for the damage, but you need to listen to me very carefully."

Natsu turned away, "Who would wanna? I'll just apologize and pay and this'll blow over soon anyway."

Cobra looked damn near terrifying and Natsu might've been just a tad frightened (due to the forced confinement; he could totally take Cobra down otherwise). He wanted to look away from the other Dragon Slayer, maybe look at Lucy and get her to restrain the malevolent force above him. Something in Natsu screamed at his prone position and he supposed that if he, Cobra, or any of the other Slayers actually believed in the "draconic instincts" thing, the clear display of dominance was setting him off.

"Let's get something straight here," Cobra began quietly, so Lucy couldn't hear, "you smell god-awful."

Natsu drew a blank, "The fuck?"

"You smell fucking awful and if I have to smell you every time I go out of my way to see Lucy…" his smile was practically diabolical, "…I'll end you."

The Fire Dragon Slayer may not have been the smartest mage, but this was dumb. He was in a wool-filled pit because Cobra didn't like his fucking _smell_ and went out of his way to _intentionally_ piss off his irritable partner? What the hell?

Then a thought occurred to him…couldn't he push this tempting red button?

Internally, Natsu was elated and he really doubted Cobra even knew what kind of door he'd opened. Ah…but couldn't the bastard read his mind?

Cobra looked stormy.

Carefully, Natsu called out to Lucy, "Hey, Luce! Look, I'm really sorry. I'll give up my entire share from the mission."

Lucy looked pleased (and maybe even a bit guilty for her actions), "You don't have to do that, Natsu, an apology works just fine."

Aries let him up and he crawled his way out of the ditch before quickly scooping Lucy up into a tender hug. She accepted his affection with noticeable surprise and he subtly sent Cobra a vicious smile.

As they walked away from Lucy's desolate wasteland of destruction with Cobra trailing just behind them, a gleeful Natsu's excellent hearing picked up a low and frustrated: "Fuck balls."

:thisisalinebreak:

Although this relies on dialogue more than I usually prefer, I think this might be a pretty decent predecessor to the previous chapter.

Since I'm visiting my mom's for a couple days, my roommate couldn't give it a quick look over yet, but if she notices any glaring issues later, I'll edit it and reupload.

Thank you so much for the review, **Papalogia**! I seriously love all of your stories and when I first heard of CoLu and was immensely confused, you and **Dragon'sHost** converted me. I now ship CoLu nearly as much as LaLu.

Tomorrow's installment is also going to be comical. So, there's that to look forward to.

Thanks for reading!

AJlovesKakashi


	3. Day 3: Online

Sorry this is late; I was helping my younger brother with his AP English summer essay and I was more than a little captivated while watching _Shirobako_ for the first time.

I'm going to be using a very loose sort of definition of "online."

Fundamentally, being "online" is using a computer to connect with one or more other computers to share information and form a network. Rather than an actual computer going online, I decided on a network of our beloved characters using the best ICT device: Hibiki Lates.

Essentially, they're making a proto-ARPANET with magic. Someday, there might be internet in Fiore. This amuses me.

Aah…if it seems like I'm analyzing the theme a bit too much, blame my recently acquired degree in Communication.

Disclaimer: _Fairy Tail_ belongs to Hiro Mashima.

:thisisalinebreak:

June 21, 2016

 **Day 3: Online**

"Could I get you anything?"

Hibiki Lates looked up and saw the glorious smile of Lucy Heartfilia, his heart of hearts. He let out a deep sigh and gazed into her beautiful, chocolate eyes, "Only if I could have yo—"

An obnoxious snort interrupted him and Hibiki turned to the source with a glare. Cobra ( _Criminal_ , Hibiki thought sourly) was smirking and shaking his head, "Don't even bother; that creature won't appreciate it anyway."

"Oh," Lucy's voice darkened and Hibiki couldn't believe his ears, "who's this 'creature' you speak of? Eh, Cobra?"

"His fiancé," the Poison Dragon Slayer sneered. "You thought I was talking about you, Conceited Cow?"

Lucy snarled and lunged at the Crime Sorcière Mage, but was held back by the spontaneous and well-timed appearance of Erza Scarlet. The redhead sent Cobra a shadowed glare and gave a sinister smile, "None of that. Let us go, Lucy; I desire cake and would like company."

With Lucy dragged off to the bar, the two men unwillingly sharing a table sent each other the dirtiest of glares. Cobra's gazed darkened at Hibiki's thoughts, but neither were willing to carry it into Fairy Tail's guildhall—it'd been rebuilt more than enough times in the recent past.

Eventually, Hibiki called for a truce and turned back to one of the multitude of books strewn about their table. Snorting as he was so apt to do, Cobra slung his booted feet up onto the table, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back in his chair.

"This is such bullshit," the maroon-haired man griped. "Why do I have to help you bastards anyway?"

"Because your gracious criminal leader lent out your criminal self to assist me in creating the most high-level information and communication network Fiore has ever seen," Hibiki chimed sharply. "You've been perfectly useless, so they really should send you back."

"Psh…you're just pissed I keep scaring away the only idiot female dumb enough to tolerate you."

Hibiki thumbed through several pages of the book he was holding, "Are you even a man?"

"Would you like to check?"

They lapsed into silence and bored, Cobra's eyes slid to Lucy at the bar. She was staring at him, cheeks puffed and red with anger as she ranted to Erza, who wasn't processing any of her teammate's words as she savored each bite of her cake. _It's a shame_ , he thought, _she's saying some real fun stuff_.

Hibiki slammed his book down onto the table, "We're doing an experiment!"

"Sure you've read enough yet, Big Guy?" Cobra deadpanned.

He groped the air for a moment and his eyes became wild, "If I have to be away from my precious Jenny any longer, I will literally explode!"

"Ugh…wait until I'm out of the room at least."

Wildly going through his options, Hibiki wasn't even fazed with his insult. He pulled a notebook closer and grabbed for the nearest quill. He dipped the end in ink and began scribbling frantically, muttering to himself. His eyes were so close to the paper that even Cobra was starting to worry about the idiot.

He pulled his feet from the table and sat up properly, "Oy! If you try anything without thinking it through, it'd be a disaster!"

"I don't care, it'd be something to work with at least." Hibiki took a breath, "We're supposed to create a large, ever present system of communication that would connect legal guilds, the Magic Council, the Royal Family, and even Crime Sorcière. It needs to be accessible, but also private enough that not just anyone with a lacrima can access it."

"How the fuck are we supposed to do that? I'm an ex-con that can hear souls and you're some dipshit playboy with stupid magic," Cobra crossed his arms.

"My magic isn't stupid!" Hibiki's voice got higher and like Lucy before him, lunged for the Dragon Slayer. He was halted midair by the again timely appearance of Erza Scarlet.

The armored woman tucked the Blue Pegasus Mage under her arm and looked sternly at Cobra, "None of that. If you boys can't behave, you'll never finish your assignment. We don't want that, do we?"

Lucy stepped out from behind her and sent a smug look at Cobra, "You are utterly incapable of working with _actual_ people, huh?"

"Come at me, Broad. You're about as personable as this fucking table," he huffed.

The blonde sat on the table and looked down on him from the boost in height, "Glass houses, Dear."

"Huh?"

She actually looked a little surprised, "Don't you know the phrase? 'People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at other people's glass houses' or something like that. I'm calling you a hypocrite, Dumbass."

Erza watched them trade insults and wondered if she should intervene. They honestly looked like they were having fun—an odd concept to be sure—and she wasn't sure if she could tear them apart. Maybe this was how they expressed their love? She and Jellal didn't really argue (neither did Alzack and Bisca, her only real example of a functioning relationship), but maybe other couples did?

"Don't you even think it, Hammer Witch!"

Ignoring Cobra, Erza suddenly realized her captive was gone. She scanned the room and found him on the other side of the table, where a number of different colored lacrimas were laid out. He seemed to be making some sort of selection and she casually (as casual as someone in armor can be) strode over to him.

"I like the red one best."

Hibiki gave a small smile and there was something off about it. He grabbed four of the red crystals and gave her two, "Then I'll use the red ones first. Touch Cobra with one of the lacrimas and keep the other for yourself. I'll get Lucy, but it has to be simultaneous."

Erza honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but nonetheless she creeped around the table and waited until Hibiki was in position. Lucy was saying a lot of mean things very rapidly and Cobra was matching her insult by insult, so it seemed he didn't have enough time to pay attention to her.

Hibiki gave her the "okay" sign and she went ahead and touched him with the red lacrima just as he tapped Lucy on the arm. The air swelled with magic and her mind felt fuzzy.

Lucy was the first to recover from the sudden dizziness that seemed to have affected only the four and the research table. Cobra looked genuinely disgruntled and Mavis! did she love it.

"I'm glad you're enjoying my pain, Wench."

Lucy was struck with fear. It wasn't uncommon for Cobra to answer out loud when he read someone's thoughts—

"Soul, you ditzy blonde."

—but this was the only time in their acquaintance that he'd ever answered _without opening his fucking mouth_.

He looked confused by the thought and his mouth gaped like a fish for a few comical moments. He stared at her in amazement and without moving his lips or manipulating his vocal chords, spoke, "What in the high hell is going on?"

"I don't know, but it feels a little like when Warren connects us with his telepathy."

"This is certainly odd," another voice chimed in. "Is this the fruit of your labor, Hibiki?"

"Or an incredibly ill-timed experiment, you shitbag!" This time, Cobra did the lunging and Erza, lost in a world of introspection about the uses for such an interesting method of communication, was not timely enough to catch him.

Hibiki, ever the perfect gentleman, stepped directly behind the shocked Lucy and Cobra stopped just short enough to avoid colliding with the comatose idiot. They were too close and Lucy was recovering quickly. The Dragon Slayer pulled back just as Lucy struck outward with her fist, missing his nose by mere centimeters.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she thought/yelled.

"Hey, everyone should just calm down," Hibiki gave them all one of his best host smiles and all but Erza were pissed.

"Calm down?" Lucy rounded on him, "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"An experiment for the betterment of the nation?"

Cobra scoffed and stepped toward him to stand beside Lucy, his former adversary and now comrade in arms, "You better know how to undo this. People are starting to stare and from what I gather, they can't hear any of this."

"That's fine, the point was to try to exclude them," Hibiki explained. "We're trying to create a private communications network that not just anyone can access."

"That's not the only goal though. What about the information access part?" Cobra sighed.

"What did you even do for this experiment?" Lucy questioned, her tone still on edge. "You haven't actually explained anything!"

Hibiki held up the red lacrimas, "I channeled my telepathy into the lacrimas that were touching you. I thought maybe it'd stop after we weren't touching them anymore, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe it'll wear off after the lacrimas run out of power."

"When will that be?" Erza rejoined the conversation. "This is certainly interesting, but will be more than an inconvenience if it lasts more for just the day. Lucy and I have a mission tomorrow."

"Tch," Cobra answered for him, "he doesn't know. He didn't think any of it through."

"I hypothesize, since they're pretty small lacrimas, that the ethernano will run out by noon tomorrow maybe," the Blue Pegasus Mage grimaced. "You should probably delay until we can physically talk again."

"Have you ever tried to tell Natsu to delay a job?" Lucy shivered, "He's like a child."

"I got it, Blondie. I'll handle the twit," Cobra placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, "No use fighting over it now. We'll just wait it out unless this idiot thinks of something else."

Erza was pleased that the prickly Dragon Slayer and the occasionally cranky Celestial Mage seemed to be getting along so well after their earlier fights and she had to wonder if it really had just been a lovers' spat.

"Don't, Witch. I told you not to even think it, didn't I?"

Erza shrugged and abandoned the conversation. If she couldn't talk to anyone anyway, she could at least eat more cake.

:thisisalinebreak:

So this isn't resolved, haha.

This is actually going to be the set up for the June 24th theme "Raspberry." There was a lot to write and the characters only felt like arguing, so it'll carry on in about two days.

Sorry this is late, but I'll try to have **Colour** up later today to get back on track. It'll be much shorter thankfully.

Thanks for reading.

AJlovesKakashi


	4. Day 4: Colours

This is pretty short and drabble-esque. I apologize if it sounds a little cliché, but I was in a bit of a rush. The tone is pretty different from the previous three installments.

Disclaimer: _Fairy Tail_ belongs to Hiro Mashima.

:thisisalinebreak:

June 22, 2016

 **Day 4: Colours**

" _I saw your eyes_

 _And you touched my mind_

 _Although it took a while_

 _I was falling in love"_

 _-A Flock of Seagulls, "Space Age Love Song"_

Erik inspected the portrait he'd commissioned with awe. He knew jack all about art, but Reedus had brought to life everything he'd described and it was breathtaking.

Wouldn't his little wifey be surprised?

He'd always loved the sound of her soul and had tried on many occasions to help her visualize what he experienced with little success. Recently, he'd taken to describe the sounds as colors, but she still had difficulties grasping the concept.

It was almost like a symphony orchestra playing a conflicting melody. At the forefront were the very bright and bubbly chords that were easily noticeable and beautiful to listen to and glorious in and of themselves. However, also accompanying those happy notes was the darker and gripping melancholic baseline.

Her soul was a flurry of notes that conflicted and battled each other and to give her song colors was to paint a cacophonous struggle of rainbow. It was loud and the varied tones wrestled for control, almost like throwing a bunch of colors at a canvas. But it was also structured and melodic, swaying and changing with each emotion.

It wasn't until he knew her and they became close that he could see the veritable ocean of colorful sound that existed within her soul, and now she'd be able to see it and hold it in her hands.

There wasn't a whole lot that he could ask for.

With an unusually serene expression, Erik handed over the agreed price and Reedus wrapped the painting for him. He tucked it under his arm and headed over to the bar. He greeted his wife with a small peck to the cheek (inconspicuous to all but Mira) and together they departed the guild, arm in arm.

:thisisalinebreak:

This is cute.

Reeeeeaaaal cute. And decidedly less wordy than the last chapter. Thank God.

Alright, I promised there would be sadness later in the week and **Answers** is going to be one of them. Prepare your tissues.

It begins.

As always, thank you for reading!

AJlovesKakashi


	5. Day 5: Answers

Sorry this is a month and a day late! I was distracted by job hunting and a little stunted, but I think this is my favorite chapter so far. As I thought, angst is more my style.

This is drawing from Chapter 490 of the manga. If you haven't read that far, I totally recommend doing so. There will be spoilers regarding the war with Alvarez.

Disclaimer: _Fairy Tail_ belongs to Hiro Mashima.

:thisisalinebreak:

June 23rd, 2016 (July 24th, 2016)

 **Day 5: Answers**

Stumbling around blindly in the newly renovated Fiore with fat tears streaking down her cheeks and neck to reach the jagged edges of her torn blouse, Lucy tore at the thick foliage and tried to navigate the rocky landscape.

She would've said that she'd become accustomed to her country's vast range of terrain, but the new Fiore (there really was no other way to describe it) that had emerged after the bright light had enveloped everything was nothing like the Fiore she had known.

Happy was unconscious and strapped to her back with the remnants of the thigh-high socks she'd been wearing. Her boots had been obliterated, the leather had melted from the intense heat of August's magic, and she now stumbled her way barefoot over the large slabs of rock that had pushed up between the thick trees.

She tripped over a particularly large rock and lost her balance. Falling forward, she threw out her arms and tried to catch herself. Lucy winced as she gashed her knee against stone.

It was beginning to grow dark and she desperately hoped to find shelter. Her magic was too low and she needed to check Happy again for wounds. He'd been unconscious for nearly an hour and she had hoped that he would wake up, without a concussion, but the chances were growing smaller by the minute. She picked herself up and stumbled onward, blinded to everything but the narrow path before her.

Eventually, the tree line broke and she was disoriented by the open night sky. She blinked and looked around, finding twenty feet of grassy ledge that abruptly cut off into a cliff. Taking no chances, Lucy found a stray tree that was midway between the tree line and the drop off and quickly sat at its base.

She slid the cat around to her front and untied the makeshift straps. The Celestial Mage eased Happy to the ground and held her hand to his mouth with suffocating trepidation. His breath was faint and wishing she one of the Sky Sisters were there to fix the broken and battered Exceed, Lucy could do nothing but hope—and even that was too much.

She was stuck. She could only pray that Happy could hang on until she could summon Crux and use his knowledge to save him. Virgo would bring them clean clothes and Aries could make them a bed and Loke would be there to protect them….

Despair faded into incomprehensible meanderings and Lucy found herself curling around her companion, slowly losing her grip on consciousness, and drifting into a fitful sleep.

:alinebreak:

The breaking of a twig dragged her back into awareness and she groggily sat up, hand already pulling Loke's key from her ring. She scanned the area and zeroed in on a battered figure that had just emerged from the trees.

She…knew this person.

She pulled herself to her feet and stumbled toward the figure, key held out and ready to be called at a moment's notice. Finding her voice, Lucy croaked out a garbled "Cobra."

The man whirled in her direction wildly, holding out one clawed hand to defend himself. Taking her in, he labored to keep control of his breathing and _Fuck! he could kiss this woman_.

"Yo," he responded, his equally garbled voice croaked. "Am I glad to see you, Blondie. Any idea what the fuck happened? What was that bright light?"

She hadn't meant to answer his question, but her thoughts strayed to the battle she and Happy had survived before her disoriented trek through the forest. Only what August had said about the country becoming one-twentieth its size. Nothing else. It hadn't happened. Nothing else but the conversation.

"Where's the Dimwit?"

And there it was. Laid bare. It had happened. That battle…its result…. It was real.

Her eyes watered and she collapsed to the ground, covering her eyes with scraped and scabbed hands. Her shoulders shook and the remains of her torn shirt waved eerily as she heaved with distraught sobs. The wounds on her knees reopened and began bleeding openly, retracing the red streaks of blood that had dried and congealed on her dusty skin.

 _Oh, Mavis. Happy! Happy…._

She began desperately clawing her way back to her tree where the little Exceed was a mound of shadow. She couldn't stand anymore and her journey was grueling, observed only by the former criminal that had once victimized her.

When she reached the blue cat, she held her hand to his mouth and began screaming.

Cobra was at her side in an instant, hand over her mouth to muffle the raw cries tearing from her throat. It was harsh, he knew, but her thoughts had indicated a battle relatively nearby, even if they'd been incoherent and he had very little idea of what had really transpired.

At the contact, she pulled his hand away from her mouth and turned to him, burying her face against his shoulder and surprising the Poison Dragon Slayer with her sudden proximity. Unsure of what to do, he slid one of his hands into her loose hair and the other around her shoulders.

Her soul was screaming her loss at him and he wished he were someone that could share her pain and comfort her, someone she knew. She clung to him and he couldn't bring himself to pull away, doing his best to hold her.

"Lucy," he tried.

She shook her head and her sobbing gained an octave.

"Lucy," he called more urgently. "Listen—"

She struggled and grew louder.

"Hey—"

Suddenly, her cheek stung and her cries died in her throat. She looked up at him in amazement, "You…."

"Listen to me," he said sternly, "you need to be quiet. We're alone up here and there's nowhere to run. If you draw the attention of any of those Alvarez guys, we're fucked."

Lucy trembled and she renewed her struggles, "You have no idea—"

"I know I don't." He held her tightly and she stilled, "I can only guess from what I hear, but I'm going to keep us safe. We're going to live through this."

"Natsu died…" she whispered, her tone broken and soul echoing the two words over and over. "Now Happy…."

Cobra turned to look at the cat and he focused on him, "He's alive; I can hear him."

"He's…"

Lucy's soul was circling dazedly through her earlier plans: _Crux would tell her what to do…Virgo would bring them clean clothes and Aries could make them a bed and Loke would be there to protect them…._

"He's very weak. Do you have any magic left?"

"Just enough for one silver and gold key, but it'll be close."

"Call Crux and Virgo. We can do without beds for now and I'm here to protect us," Cobra commanded. "The cat doesn't have a lot of strength left."

The blonde fumbled with her key ring and found the two she was looking for. Soon golden light blinded him and the spirits stood over them, looking down at the mages with stern gravity. The woman quickly went to work as the knowledgeable Cross spirit took charge.

Confused and unable to help, the two mages held each other and watched them work. It seemed the spirits had already been aware of the situation and had come prepared with supplies and clean linens.

After what felt like hours, Virgo turned to them and bowed deeply, "Princess, we've stabilized him for now. You must call us again when your magic has restored."

"Thanks…" the Celestial Mage responded tiredly.

"I have also taken it upon myself to bring you all clothing and bedding. Aries will bring you proper bedding as soon as you are able to summon her." The spirit set a large stack of spontaneously appearing fabric on the large blanket she'd set out for the sleeping cat. "As you are exhausted, Princess, we can defer my punishment until you are recovered. I have also left bandages and disinfectant for you both, Cobra-sama. Please be sure to treat your wounds."

He nodded dumbly and the spirits disappeared with a flash of golden light.

What was he supposed to do now?

Lucy hadn't moved away and it seemed as though she was now dozing restlessly against his shoulder. Cobra wanted to hear her story and determine what chances he stood against mages that had taken out the single most inventive, flame-retarded shithead he'd ever known, but something told him that they weren't good.

The cliff was a death trap, but there was nowhere else to go. He'd been tearing through the thick forest from the moment he'd appeared within its bounds. One second he'd been with Crime Sorcière and the next, confused and wandering in a goddamn jungle.

He hadn't even _seen_ Natsu since the time they'd accidentally encountered him while he was training a few months back. They'd been at each others' throats the entire time, antagonizing the rest his guild with their constant bickering. Natsu kept soliciting him for fights and without any reservation, Cobra had one-shotted the idiot into Natsu-sized craters and embedded the moron into the dirt.

That same vibrant fucktard was _dead_?

He tightened his grip on the unconscious Celestial Mage and found that he was more affected than he thought. If he felt like this over the loss of someone he'd never even liked, he couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for the broken woman in his arms to escape with the injured blue cat. His respect for her grew immensely the more he thought about it.

And here they were, drawn together through some twisted fuckery of fate and she was going to rely on him and seek comfort from him. No one had ever really relied on him; he had no idea how to be what she needed.

But he would try.

He didn't have the answers and had no idea where to even find them, but when she woke and inevitably looked to him to lead and protect her—looked to him for direction in her new life without Natsu—he would try.

:thisisalinebreak:

Whew!

That's a wrap for this one. Sort of. It's going to be connected to "Aurora."

I still plan to do the rest of the prompts, but because I just graduated from college and am looking for a job, it might take a little while.

Thank you so much to **GemNika** for reviewing, because I seriously love all of your fics. I'm pretty sure your entries for CoLu Week last year reduced me to tears and I look forward to when I sit down and read this year's.

Also, thank you to my roommate who looked it over this chapter even though she has little interest in Fairy Tail and her knowledge of the series comprises of five episodes and all the spoilers I've fed her over the course of our friendship.

As always, thank you for your patience with me and I hope you stick around for "Raspberry," whenever I choose to write and post it.

AJlovesKakashi


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